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Setting the scene for a model railroad can be a very enjoyable experience, especially if you take the time to experiment with the layout and mood of the backdrop. When you choose to paint your own backdrop instead of using enlarged photographs, you allow yourself a greater deal of room for trial and error. That’s the beauty of painting your own backdrop: it can look however you want!

With this in mind, it’s highly important when preparing for model railroad backdrop painting that you get a clear sense of what you’re going to create when you first dip the paintbrush. You might find it difficult to paint over a misplaced barn or lopsided hillside, which is why most expert modelers recommend beginning by sketching out your scene and then transferring it over to your backdrop using tracing paper. Model railroad backdrop painting becomes a much more comfortable and relaxing process when you don’t have to worry about making unmendable mistakes. In this lesson, you’ll learn some simple techniques for model railroad backdrop painting that help take the stress out of putting paint to paper.

Model railroad backdrop painting made easy

To give you a sense of the benefits when you lay out your scene before mixing paints, expert modeler Tom Lund demonstrates his method for model railroad backdrop painting that utilizes tracing paper and acrylics. He walks you step by step through the entire process, from first pencil stroke to finished product.

To get the model railroad backdrop painting started, Tom teaches you how to tape down tracing paper and sketch out the skeleton for your eventual scene, including horizon, hillsides, buildings and treeline. He explains why penciling your scene first is so vital to figuring out where you want components to be placed throughout the scene. Next, he shows you how to transfer your sketch to the backdrop using graphite, and then pulls out the paint to fill in his scene. You’ll see how to use various colors and the stippling technique to create a patchwork farm setting and translucent trees, as well as a T-square or triangle to make buildings come to life. With Tom’s tips and tricks for model railroad backdrop painting, you can take the stress out of making a beautiful backdrop for your models!

If you’re building a long backdrop for your model railroad layout, you’re going to have to connect the boards together using nails or staples, which means you’ll end up with a fairly visible seam. Expert modelers generally have a couple options during the process of model railroad backdrop construction to cover this seam, but we’ve…

Oftentimes when building a model railroad layout, it’s beneficial to utilize a stacked scene with multiple levels. Multilevel model train benchwork offers a number of unique advantages to a scene, one of which being the illusion of grander scale. For instance, you might employ the layout of the multilevel model train benchwork if you were…

Forced perspective can be one of the most useful tools the model railroader has at his disposal. You can add a great amount of depth to your scene and create impressive illusions with proper angles and well placed model railroad scenery. These illusions are often necessary for building a convincing model if you are working…

Seamlessly blending your backdrop into your model railroad scene can be tricky at times. Tony Koester offers some helpful tips for blending streams, rivers and roads with the backdrop. To help avoid situation where the scene intersects the backdrop and forms a 90 degree angle, Tony recommends using a photo backdrop; buy them commercially or…